


4N-T1

by Drakojana



Category: Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye - Fandom, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Gore, Horror, M/M, Mark is in pretty deep shit, One Shot, SCP!Anti, Violence, it progressively gets worse, scp-inspired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-10-30 06:54:27
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10871421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drakojana/pseuds/Drakojana
Summary: Mark has had nightmares in his life before that encounter.But he's sure, he's absolutely sure that nothing he's ever dreamt of can even compare to those eyes.[The story is only inspired by the SCP!verse]





	4N-T1

**Author's Note:**

> Have you ever woken up and thought "Hey, you know what you haven't tried writing yet? Horror!"  
> This took me 3 days to write and I neglected to study for two important exams.  
> Do enjoy my hard work!

Mark's head is pounding like he's just been nearly bludgeoned to death. It hurts so much, he wonders how is that even possible. He opens his eyes because the pain is unbearable to keep laying down. The moment he does it, though, he's flashed with a blinding white. He shields his eyes from the light but squinting his eyes just causes the head to hurt more.

It's definitely not his home.

The room he finds himself in is bright and small. As he sits up, he realises he's been lying on a mattress. It's not very comfortable, so his back cracks and he groans. There's not much to look at in the room - the walls are all white and the only other thing aside from the makeshift bed is a door on the opposite side. Mark tries to remember how he got there - then realises, he has no memory of ever coming to this place.

His vivid imagination supplies him with impossible scenarios of a kidnapping, being locked up in a mental institute or an underground facility where he's going to become a test subject. All he can do is blame himself for his love for video games and movies. He gets out of the bed, yet the second his feet touch the ground, a new wave of pain sweeps through him and he lands back on the bed. A part of him wishes somebody would come so he can ask for some painkillers, another part hopes he's left alone.

Mark doesn't have much time to contemplate as soon he hears heavy footsteps outside and the sound of the door being unlocked. A man in a lab coat walks into the room and looks at him in silence. Mark shifts, feeling uncomfortable being stared down like that. Before he can speak up, though, the man points at him.

"Take him to the test room number 201."

Mark's eyes widen and he protests but two other men walk in, both wearing black uniforms with guns by their sides and they grab him by the arms and yank upwards to force him to stand up.

"W-wait! Where the fuck am I?!" He yells, yet the only response is the armed men dragging him out, not fazed at all by his thrashing around. They don't let him scream for too long, as soon he's punished for being so loud with a hit on the head. He whimpers but eventually gives up, seeing as he stands no chance against them.

They lead him through various corridors, some narrow and full of doors on the left and right side, some wide and empty. In the bigger intersections, Mark notices more people - most of them dressed in the lab coats, though there are other guards here and there, patrolling the area. He once even sees a huge cage covered with a dark cloth, surrounded by at least five armed people as it's pushed towards another part of the building. It certainly makes him nervous, as he can't guess just what kind of place he's found himself in.

The two guards dragging him stop in front of a set of double doors with the glass panel displaying "201" on it. One of them lets Mark go and enters some kind of a code, opening the door. The other pushes Mark in and the exit is shut behind him.

The new room isn't too big - bigger than the one he's woken up in, but smaller than his living room back in his home. There's an empty chair in the middle of it, a long table by one of the walls and a few cupboards above it. On the left side, Mark spots another door - not as wide as the one he's come in. It opens and another person dressed in white enters the room. It's a woman with blonde hair tied into a tight bun on top of her head and a pair of glasses on her nose.

"Sit down," she motions to the chair without sparing Mark even a glance.

"Who are you? What is this place? How did I-"

"All the questions will be answered later," she interrupts him and now he notices she's holding a clipboard with some papers. He sits down, eyeing her suspiciously. He knows he should speak up but there's something in the tone of her voice that makes him be quiet.

She takes her time by the table, setting out some medical appliances. Finally, she turns around and walks up to Mark, who's nervously fidgeting in the chair.

"Name?" she asks in a rather unamused voice.

"So you can't answer me but I'm supposed to answer your questions?" Mark says begrudgingly.

The woman doesn't even look up from the clipboard she's holding, waiting patiently for an actual reply. Mark mumbles some pointless insults before eventually speaking up again.

"Mark Fischbach."

"Date of birth?"

"28th of June, 1989."

There's a pause as she's writing something down. Then she shifts her gaze to Mark, and he can't help but grit his teeth.

"Any major injuries? Chronic illnesses?"

"Why the fuck does that concern you people?" Mark snaps, his patience wearing thin.

"… None it seems," the woman huffs, ignoring his question and scribbles on the paper. "This is for your own safety, so your uncooperativeness will only harm yourself."

"Can I at least know where the hell I am?!" Mark stands up, clenching his fists. Frustration slowly takes over him and he thinks about punching her. She walks off to the bigger door and opens it without paying attention to his rising anger.

"We're done here for now. You can take him back to the cell."

The two guards seem to have waited for Mark outside as they grab him by the arms again and pick up from the chair like a weightless doll. No amount of curses and kicking around can help him as he's dragged down the same hallways. He sees more people, even hears some screaming coming out from one of the rooms. Nobody even bats an eye to that, though. Mark feels that he's the only one shocked by the sounds in this place.

When they're back, he's locked up again. Nothing's changed in the room, so he sits down and sighs heavily. At least the headache is gone, but now Mark's got thousands of questions swimming through his mind. There's something unsettling about the place, and after that small trip, he gets the feeling that his imaginary guesses aren't so wild and improbable anymore.

After a couple of hours, he gets some food delivered by a hole under the door. He doesn't feel hungry at all but he drinks the water they give him. At least he's not going to die from starvation in this place.

* * *

The next time the door opens and somebody walks into the room, they find Mark napping on the mattress. Without bothering to wake him up, the guards pick him up and carry out of the room. Only after he feels a forceful grip on his side does he wake up.

"W-what in the fucking-- Ngh!"

As soon as he makes a noise, the man that's been carrying him on his shoulder throws him off.

"You're awake, so you're walking by yourself."

Mark gets himself together and gets up, knowing that if he doesn't do it quickly, they're going to dig their fingers into his biceps again. They lead him the similar path as before, except that just before the final turn they take the right instead of left. Mark finds himself in front of a double door again, this time labelled with a number "238". When it opens, he walks in willingly.

It looks just like the room 201, everything in the exact same place - the cupboards, the chair, the long table and the door on the left side. But this time, someone's already waiting inside. They turn around and Mark sees a man with short, brown hair.

"Sit down," he says and Mark does so.

"Is this the moment I finally hear some goddamn answers?" He asks in a sarcastic tone.

"What do you want to know?" Surprisingly, the man sounds that he's actually going to reply to a question.

"What is this place?" Mark chooses the topic that's been the most mysterious out of everything going on in his head.

"A research facility," the answer's short and rather unhelpful. "Now, I'm going to perform an examination so take off your shirt."

Mark holds his breath and stares at the man in confusion. The guy may look like someone qualified to do so but without any confirmation that he does indeed possess a medical license Mark doesn't feel like letting him do a check-up.

The man guesses his thoughts and adds:

"If you don't do it in five seconds, I'm calling the guards waiting outside to do it for you."

Those words are enough for Mark to follow any latter orders. The examination turns out to be exactly the same as any normal check-up Mark has experienced in his life. The man takes all of his measurements, starting with height and weight, through the blood pressure and heart rate, and ending with checking his eyesight.

Once they're done, Mark starts putting back his clothes but the man stops him, taking out an orange shirt and trousers from one of the cupboards.

"From now on, you'll be wearing those," he hands them to Mark, who glares at him again.

"What's wrong with me wearing my own clothes? Am I a test subject, or what?"

"No," the man sounds too calm. "You are not the test subject here."

"Then what do you research here?"

Mark gets no reply, except for the door opening again. He hurries to put on the new clothes and leaves the room with the guards accompanying him as usual. He hopes for nothing unusual to happen on their way back. Still, one thing manages to catch his attention - a small child, he can't tell if it's a boy or a girl, surrounded by four guards, two of which are holding rifles. Mark swallows anxiously, his mind unable to comprehend as to why would a child need to be assigned four people, where as he gets only two, even though he's a grown man. The child looks back at him, and the moment their eyes meet, it smiles and waves, before walking off.

"W-what the fuck…" he mumbles and the guards have to push him to remind him to keep moving. Once back in his cell, he again takes his time to think hard about the place.

* * *

A day or two pass and Mark is constantly brought to different rooms, their numbers always starting with a "2", so he guesses he's on the second floor of the facility. They continue to do various tests on him, even psychological. He usually just decides to go along with everything, occasionally throwing in a question or two himself. Most of the people checking him don't reply, or the answers he gets don't clear anything up.

One thing he knows for sure, though. Whatever this research facility he's found himself in is, its test subjects are dangerous. Mark hears a few times that he may experience physical injuries. Nobody says it aloud, but the threat of death itself hangs in the air as well. He needs to get out but there seems to be no escape. So he quietly complies with all the orders, hoping that one time he's going to see a green arrow that will save him from this wretched place.

His wishes are soon to be crushed, as the same man in a lab coat Mark has seen on his first day in the building walks into his cell.

"You've been assigned to the test subject 4N-T1. Come with me."

Mark gets up from his bed and wonders if this is where he should say his prayers. He's never actually seen the test subjects - or at least never been told he's seen them. He hopes he's lucky enough to survive, come back and get out. Something tells him he has no reason to be scared yet, as he's never encountered anything life-threatening there.

That same part of him shuts up the moment the man stops in front of a huge cell. The contents of the glass plate send shivers down Mark's spine.

**Test Subject: 4N-T1**

**Status: Sentient; Violent**

**Danger level: 1/2**

**UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL IS FORBIDDEN FROM APPROACHING THE TEST SUBJECT**

"Once the door opens, enter the cell," the man says and backs away.

"Wait, what?! What the hell am I supposed to do there? A-and what is this?!" Mark points at the label, his voice shaking.

"Your job is to simply interact with the test subject. You'll get further instructions from the speakers inside the cell."

Mark wants to ask more, he feels cold sweat on his forehead just thinking about what is waiting for him inside. He hears some hissing and the automatic locks open, soon the door splits in two and its halves disappear in the walls. He takes a step forward, then back. There's not much in the cell from the looks of it. Despite its size, there is only one chair in the middle of it and someone's sitting there with their back turned to him.

"In, now. The door automatically closes after one minute," he hears the man behind him, and now even he sounds fearful.

Mark takes a deep breath and finally steps inside. He waits for the thick metal to lock behind him again before exhaling.

The person sitting in the chair doesn't move. Then Mark notices they're bound in their position by heavy chains. Everything seems to be electronic in this place, as after he hears an announcement through the speakers, the locks begin to open, one by one.

" _The test subject is now allowed to move around the cell."_

The chains fall to the floor but the person doesn't look like they care about that at all. Mark takes a step forward, feeling that he's starting to shiver. He tries to get himself together but he can't stop thinking about the warning labels.

Finally, the person turns their head around and their eyes meet Mark's. And his heart stops in that moment.

Mark has had nightmares in his life before that encounter. But he's sure, he's absolutely sure that nothing he's ever dreamt of can even compare to those eyes. He freezes in place. The test subject grins.

* * *

Mark gasps for air in panic as he wakes up in his cell.

"Wha- what… what the fuck…"

His whole body is shivering, sobs escape his lips as he starts recalling everything from the encounter of the test subject. The only thing he can remember are the eyes that he's sure will now haunt him forever. So dull, emptier than the vacuum of space. They weren't just dark. They were blacker than anything Mark could imagine. In fact, he was pretty sure when their gazes met, he'd seen a completely new type of black nobody has ever witnessed before. And even though they were so dark, they stared right at him. Any light was lost in them and somehow Mark knew they carefully observed every inch of his body when he was in that cell.

Everything else is a blur. Mark reaches for his neck and feels the wounds there. The test subject attacked him at some point, though this is where his memory is failing him. He brings his hand back and sees the fingers stained with blood. That person - or maybe some kind of a creature - tried to choke him, he thinks. He's not sure though, as he can't even remember if he passed out or if someone rescued him.

He snaps out of his thoughts when the door of his cell unlocks. The same man as before steps in, holding a clipboard.

"The first visit has been successful. The next one is scheduled for tomorrow."

"W-what do you mean, "successful"?! I-I nearly died there!" Mark yells, jumping off the bed.

"The key word here is "nearly"," the man shrugs. "4N-T1 did not kill you."

"T-then what did they do to me…?"

"If your memory is failing you, then this is not our fault. You've gone through specific tests that ensured your sanity. We are not to share any results with you until the experiment is over."

"What is this experiment?!" Mark shoves the other man as his blood now boils with fury. "Why the fuck are you keeping me, and others, here like our lives don't fucking matter?!"

The man merely clears his throat, not paying attention to the signs of anger.

"I advise you to calm down and prepare yourself mentally for the next visit. It may be… exhausting."

"Wha-- don't you just ignore me, you son of a--!"

Mark can't even finish his insult as the other leaves the cell and he hears the lock click.

"Fuck. Fuck you, fuck this place, fuck everything!" He kicks the door and sits down on the mattress, crossing his arms. He looks at his bloody fingers again and wipes the back of his hand across the neck. Its stained with more of the red liquid once he looks back at it. Mark wishes the cell had at least a mirror so he could see how bad the injuries are. They don't seem to hurt, even though they keep bleeding.

"Couldn't you at least bandage me, motherfuckers…" He spits at the door.

Nobody comes to visit him for the rest of the day, save for the plate with some food and water slid under the door again. This time Mark eats everything, thinking if this is his last meal.

* * *

 The next day Mark decides not to talk to anybody. It's not like they want to answer him anyway. He lets the man in charge of this whole "experiment" lead him to the same cell as before. Seeing the same plate, with the same warnings still scares him. It's stupid but he thought that in the meantime something could change. Like, the whole "danger level" thing. Mark hates the fact that he doesn't have a goddamn clue how bad it actually is.

"Today we want you to talk to the test subject. We're not going to release it from its chains, so it shouldn't attack you this time."

And again, Mark is left alone as the other man backs away from the door as it opens. Mark sighs and enters the cell but the word "shouldn't" worries him more than anything.

The view is exactly the same as the day before. A person sitting in a lone chair in this big room. Mark gulps as he slowly walks up to them. Now he notices that the chains are locking them in place completely - it's not only their ankles and wrists that are bound. There's also a thick metal collar around their neck and a couple of chains around their torso.

He walks around them and as soon as he's in the field of their sight, the black eyes immediately set on him. Mark can't blame them for staring - he's the only thing worth looking at in this room. But the black orbs are so unsettling he looks away himself. The test subject is smiling again.

Mark has no idea what to talk about. He feels slightly annoyed at the vague instructions, though the anxiety building up in his stomach soon overloads any other emotions. He takes a shallow breath but can't bring himself to say anything. He keeps glancing at the person, making sure to never meet their eyes. They look relatively... Normal. Not like an extremely dangerous individual at all.

They're wearing casual clothes - a grey hoodie and a pair of black ripped jeans. They don't have anything on their feet, and when Mark stares at them, they start tapping on the floor. So he raises his eyes to try to catch some details about their face. It looks like a man that could be the same age as Mark. Their - his - hair is dyed vibrant green, long enough to cover his forehead and slightly overlap with the eyes. Mark quickly jumps from the hair to the smile, still avoiding the black eyes. Though he realises that may be a mistake, as the grin grows wider and the white teeth look much sharper than they should.

The test subject keeps quiet as it studies Mark the same way it’s being observed but after a while, it speaks up. Its voice hurts Mark's ears, causing ringing in his head.

"What's your name?" It’s speaking without moving its jaw, the teeth locked in place.

Mark wipes the sweat off his face, not realising how wet he's already got until he felt his hair stick to his forehead. He's got one specific goal and the test subject is actually helping him. He hopes there won't be any consequences.

"… Mark."

The green-haired creature closes its eyes and hangs its head, as low as the collar around its neck allows it to.

"Mark… Mark, Mark Mark…" It begins to hum to itself, moving its head from one side to another in a weird, uneven rhythm. Its voice sounds so happy that Mark takes a few steps back until he feels the wall behind him.

"What are you?" He asks and there's that tremble in his voice again.

The test subject stops and looks up at him. No matter the distance, the black eyes are still too horrifying to look at.

"My name is written on the label outside," it's not smiling anymore. "You can't read?"

"… No, I…" Mark's breathing turns quicker and he scolds himself for getting so nervous. "I thought you had an actual name. Not, you know…"

"What is my name, then?" The grin is soon back on its face and it sing-songs the question.

"4N-T1."

There's a moment of silence. Then the creature bursts out with laughter. Its giggles are loud, much louder than its usual voice and they hurt Mark physically. This time, they actually cause pain as he clutches his head and ducks. The laughing continues, and Mark feels tears prick the corner of his eyes. He can't understand how simple sound can hurt so much. He can't listen to that giggling that doesn't sound human at all at this point. It's too high-pitched, layered with some static and resembles strangled sounds. So when the noise stops, Mark falls to the floor feeling so tired but also relieved.

"You're right. It's not my name." The creature replies.

Mark gets up with a groan, massaging his temples.

"T-then what is it?"

"Hm… hm… hm…" it's back to humming again, tapping the melody with its foot. "You can call me Anti."

"A-Anti." Mark takes a deep breath. "Okay. Anti. You're not… human, are you?"

He prepares to cover his ears, thinking that it's going to laugh again. It does not, as it keeps grinning.

"Oh, look how smart you are," it sticks its tongue out. "Most of them call me human when they first talk to me."

"I… Err, fail to see how they could m-mistake you for one…" Mark hates the feeling in his gut that he's stepping on a thin ice.

"It's the eyes, isn't it?" Anti stops moving for a while. "Let me show you a trick!"

Mark nods, hoping that whatever that is that he's going to see, it's not the creature suddenly breaking free. Thankfully, it's not. It only closes its eyes, and when it looks at Mark again, they glow green. The black sclera is still there but this time there's also iris that's so bright it contrasts with the dark.

"… C… cool."

Anti reacts to Mark's response with laughter and Mark curses himself for not seeing that coming again. It takes the creature a good minute to calm itself down to the point where Mark isn't crying out in pain. Though the green eyes are gone now, back to the unsettling dark.

"Hey, Mark!" Anti calls out to him when Mark is getting himself together after the painful giggles.

"Y-yeah?"

He's interrupted by a sound from the speakers. The exact same announcement he's heard the day before. And as soon as it's finished, he hears the creature.

"Let's play again!"

The chains hit the floor and the last thing Mark sees is a blurry figure jumping at him.

* * *

Mark's eyes snap open and he falls off the bed with a scream. As he lands on the tiled floor with a thud, it takes him a few moments to realise where he is - back in his own cell.

His head hurts, and so does his neck. When he takes quick breaths, he feels something drip down his throat - a quick sweep of his hand proves his thoughts - his skin is littered with even more wounds and they all bleed slowly painting his neck red.

Yet again he can't recall much from the visit. But at least he remembers the moment Anti attacked him, even though that doesn't give him any sort of comfort. Mark shudders thinking that he's going back there.

Surprisingly, when the doctor comes - that's how he decides to call the man in his head - he says something completely different.

"You're not going to visit the test subject 4N-T1 for the next two days."

Mark should feel relieved. Happy. Glad that his life won't be in danger for a while. Instead, he's confused.

"Why?"

"This is a part of the experiment. We'll now run some tests on you and tend to your wounds."

Finally, Mark thinks and sighs.

The following days are calm and quiet. As much as they can get in this facility, as Mark hears some screams and cries here and there nonetheless. Whenever he leaves his cell with the guards, he pays more attention to the people he sees in the corridors. He gets some understanding of how this place works - the "people" with more guards assigned to them than needed are most likely other test subjects like Anti.

The only enigma is the danger level. Mark tries asking the doctor once but he ignores the question. And without knowing any other test subject, Mark has no way of knowing whether 1 means that it's the highest level or the lowest. Could be both, though the second version terrifies him to the point where he has to shake his head to get the thoughts out of his mind.

* * *

The third time Mark stands in front of the door to Anti's cell, he gets himself together. The only thing confusing him at the moment is that the guards followed him all the way to this place. They stand by his side as the doctor gives him the final instructions.

"I assume you already know how it works, so today we have a special request. We need you to enter the cell as quickly as possible, as the door will be held open for only a couple of seconds."

"… Why's that?" Mark squints his eyes and his heart picks up the pace.

"You will see that as soon as you're in."

And with that, the doctor left, leaving Mark behind with the guards. He gets a suspicion on what may be going on, so he prays he's wrong. The door opens and the guards shove him forward into the cell. The metal shuts behind him and he yelps, as it nearly catches his leg. And Mark sees he wasn't wrong.

Anti is not sitting in its chair.

The creature is standing by the wall on the left, looking up at the security camera installed under the ceiling. It slowly shifts its gaze to Mark, who's paralysed in fear.

"Mark!" Anti chirps happily. "I knew it was you, I saw you!" It points at the camera.

"Y-you did?" He tries to find some courage within him to move, shifting from one foot to another. "I, uh, yeah, I'm here."

"Maaark," the creature slurs and walks towards him, swaying from one side to another with each step. "Where were you yesterday? And the day before? Why didn't you visit me?"

Mark flinches, hearing the distorted, breathy voice. It sounds completely different when it's not underlaid with laughter.

"They didn't…" He stops, wondering just how much he should say. "I couldn't."

"Why?" Anti stops just in front of him and there's no escape from the dark gaze that bores into his skull. "I was waiting."

"S-sorry, I'm not allowed to walk around the building by myself." Mark feels stupid for justifying himself to the creature. But then again, he is too scared at the moment to care.

"What is stopping you? Do you not like coming here? It's me, isn't it? You don't like playing with me."

The last sentence doesn't sound like a question at all. Mark watches as Anti lowers its head, the messy hair obstructing the view of its face.

"I… I don't…"

Then there's a hand on Mark's throat and it squeezes hard like a snake. The creature's head snaps back up and its grinning again.

"Come on, I'm joking! You love to visit me, don't you?" It laughs as it finishes speaking and Mark can't tell what's worse; having the air supply cut off or listening to the hurtful giggles.

Mark catches Anti's wrists, though the strength leaves his body faster than he'd like it to. He struggles to speak, to beg for the creature to let him go, weakly pulling on its arms. His mind gets clouded quickly, and his vision goes dark around the corners. Something then pops up in his head, a faint memory. He recognises the feeling of being struggled, of being choked nearly to death. He feels Anti's nails dig into his skin, opening up the wounds. That explains all the injuries around his neck.

"A… Anti… pl… please…" He croaks out, and then the pressure is gone. Mark falls to the floor and gasps like a fish thrown out of the water.

"I didn't get to do this for two days. Do you know how frustrating that is?" The creature looms over him, speaking like a child whose favourite toy has been taken away.

Mark doesn't reply, still trying to calm himself down. He hisses from all the pain, the stinging feeling on his throat accompanied by some blood already leaving the cuts.

"Promise you'll come back tomorrow, Mark."

Every time Anti says his name there's a weird undertone to it. He can't tell if it's malice, joy or something entirely different. He can't even begin to guess what's on the creature's mind. It bends over so that its face is a few inches away from Mark's.

"Promise, Mark."

He knows there's no way around it. Mark doesn't even want to test out what can happen if he says no.

"A-alright, I-I promise…" With all of his might, he prays to whatever gods are listening to him in that moment that the doctor will take him here the next day. He really doesn't need to think what Anti may do to him if he doesn't come.

"Great!" The creature's voice is back to the gleeful tone as it grabs Mark's shoulders and hoists him up.

Mark finally asks the question that's been at the back of his mind from the first visit. He may regret it but his tongue moves faster than his brain can process the thought.

"A-are you trying to kill me?"

Anti freezes, still holding Mark by his shoulders. The grip on him gradually changes as the fingers dig into him through the fabric of his shirt. The pressure rises and rises, until the material gives out under the sharp nails and they now press directly into his skin.

The creature's facial expression changes so slowly that Mark's shaking, unable to control his fear. He can only watch as its grin falters into a scowl, yet the mouth opens just as wide, showing all the pointy teeth. Its eyebrows are drawn together and its eyes shift, a single light dot appears in them. Mark stares in terror as more glowing dots pop up in the endless darkness of Anti's eyes, and soon they link together, forming bright green circles. It takes about a minute for the whole iris to appear. Mark gulps, terrified as he thinks what it's supposed to mean.

The creature's head twitches to the side and it speaks.

"I thought… you wouldn't… be… that stupid… to think… I… would want to… kill… a friend…"

It talks so slow, unlike before. Mark closes one eye as he hears the static in its voice get louder. It wheezes, and its shoulders move up and down sluggishly.

"A-a… friend?" Mark can't make his vocal cords work, so it comes out as a whisper. "You mean… me?"

"You… don't want to… be friends…?" Its eyes frantically shift, the irises jumping around as it stares at Mark's face.

He has no idea what to think of it. All he knows is that he has to make another choice. Fast.

"I do… P-please just… let me go." Mark doesn't care that there are tears in his eyes. He's never been this scared in his whole life, so when Anti releases him from its grip, he whimpers and feels a single drop roll down his cheek.

He's too busy with trying to get his thoughts together, to understand anything that's going on to notice what the creature is doing. Anti's eyes don't stop glowing as it looks at Mark. Then, it starts humming, but it sounds all wrong like it’s a badly-recorded melody played on some rusty speakers.

"Hmm… hmm… Mark… Mark, Mark, Mark… Hm…"

He glances at the creature hearing his name. The expression on its face changes again and this time it looks so absent-minded, though it's smiling. Mark can't wrap his head around its thinking process. One moment it's choking him to death, the other it's smiling and musing to itself. And he's completely at its mercy.

"W-why is your voice…" he starts the question and wonders how exactly to finish it. "… L-like that?"

Anti turns around and takes a few steps forward, its humming getting louder and louder. It repeats Mark's name in various pitches until the volume hurts his ears. Mark covers them but that doesn't help at all - in fact, the noise only amplifies the more he tries to block it out. The creature then giggles, the harsh laughter interrupting the melody. It faces Mark again with a wide grin.

"I like it that way," it forces some words out in between the giggles. "It makes others listen to me."

That doesn't exactly answer his question but Mark doesn't feel like pushing his luck. He guesses his own reactions are proof to Anti's words. It walks back to him and puts its hands on his throat, this time just letting them rest there. Mark holds his breath, preparing for another round of struggling for air, yet the creature doesn't tighten its hold. It keeps signing his name quietly and observes him with curiosity. Mark's not sure when that happened, but the eyes are back to normal - well, as much as the absolute and black emptiness can be considered normal.

"You're scared."

Mark nods. It's not going to change anything anyway. Anti takes another step forward, closing the space between them.

"You're scared of me."

Another nod, with a bit of hesitation. He feels the creature's chest press against his, and the hands that were on his throat now slide to his back. Mark doesn't want to call it a "hug" but… that's what it looks like when Anti has its arms around his neck.

"I like you."

Mark closes his eyes because the proximity of the creature's face is more than just unnerving. He waits and waits, for whatever's going to happen. He hears Anti's shallow, wheezy breaths and can't stop another shudder as it runs down his spine. He's not a religious person at all but the number of prayers to all possible deities that pass through his head is overwhelming. He doesn't care at this point, whatever is going to save him from his fate will earn his eternal gratefulness.

But no miracle happens. Instead, he gets to feel something else against his throat. It's warm and wet, and it takes Mark a while to realise that the creature is licking his blood off. For a split second he cracks one eye open, though as he does, he sees that wicked smile and glowing eyes, and also something entirely new - Anti's face isn't even that close to his neck. It's the tongue that's at least thrice the length of a normal human's. It slithers along Mark's skin, gathering both the dried-up and fresh blood, tickling his nerves and prodding at his wounds. He whimpers and shuts his eyes tighter than before because that sight is sickening.

The creature chuckles and when it's done, it retreats its tongue with a sloppy sound. Then it nuzzles into Mark's neck and inhales his scent with deep breaths like he's some kind of a fragrant flower.

"W-what are you…" Mark stutters out, wincing as he now feels the cold exhales on his wet skin.

"I like your scent. Soo much fear," Anti revels in the smell and takes its time with its pleasure.

Mark needs to change the subject. He feels like a piece of meat that's about to be devoured with the way the creature is treating him. He recalls how this visit started and asks his question.

"Why… why weren't you in the chair today?"

Anti snorts in response.

"Do you want me to be always locked in place?"

"I… I was just… s-surprised, you know?" Mark's voice is failing him once more and it cracks mid-sentence. "S-since they're keeping you here… Wouldn't you escape when they open the door?"

"I was busy." The creature finally stops giving his neck so much attention and looks back into his eyes. "I was watching you, Maark."

Every time it drawls while saying his name Mark's panic level raises just a bit.

"W-watching? H-h-how?"

Anti points at the camera and laughs. It laughs and laughs, and Mark's desperately trying to stick his fingers into his ears to block it out. The giggles ring in his head and blur everything in his mind. His head starts pounding like hell and he screams from the sudden pain. It all becomes too much soon and his consciousness drifts away, his body falls to the floor.

* * *

The next day Mark is just sitting on his bed, hugging his knees. He completely forgets about the promise that he's blabbered out in panic, so when the doctor announces that it's time for another visit, he refuses to move.

"I'm not going."

"You don't have a choice here."

Mark avoids the other man's gaze.

"Need I to remind you your own words?"

Mark only scoffs, having no clue what he's talking about. He hears some rustling and then after a click, a recording plays.

 _"Promise you'll come back tomorrow, Mark."_ It's Anti's voice. _"Promise, Mark."_

And then, his. _"A-alright, I-I promise…"_

"It's probably forgotten," Mark grumbles.

"I normally do not give away the further parts of the experiment but later we will show you what happens when you don't visit 4N-T1 regularly." There's a hint of warning in the doctor's voice. "We do not guarantee how it may react if it's lied to. I assume you do remember the labels outside of its cell."

Mark sighs. "I'll go but only after you at least explain what the danger level means."

"Get up. I'll tell you on the way to the test subject's cell."

With each passing day, Mark loses interest in observing the hallways. In the end, they all look the same with the grey walls, patrols walking around and other scientists. If they are scientists at all. He doesn't look at anything as he listens to the man speak.

"The lower the number, the higher the danger. Test subjects labelled under number 1 are the most dangerous ones we have here. Currently, there are only two beings that fall under that category, 4N-T1 was assigned the level 1/2."

"Does that mean… The other thing is even more dangerous?"

"Yes. With level 1/1 it does not get any visitors as it shows no interest in human interaction."

"… Great," Mark mumbles. "Why won't Anti just kill me?"

"This is a question I cannot answer yet," the doctor says and after a couple of minutes, they're in front in the cell.

"Can I get some kind of, I dunno, instructions as to what exactly I'm supposed to do there?" Mark stares at the thick metal door. The answer he gets completely catches him off guard.

"You've been doing excellent thus far."

"W-what?"

The man doesn't reply and walks away, leaving Mark alone to watch the door unlock. He knows the drill so he walks in, stopping right behind the door. He scans the room and notices that Anti's standing up again. But this time, he's right next to the chair. And Mark realises… it's struggling with something. He steps forward and observes the creature. It seems to be free at the first glance but upon further inspection, Mark sees that its right wrist is locked to the chair.

Anti's mumbling to itself and it sounds like ten different voices speaking, each layer a different pitch and volume. But one thing they all have in common - from time to time they all speak Mark's name in unison and it's much too creepy, considering that the creature isn't paying attention to the visitor at all.

Mark's probably risking his life there, yet he slowly approaches Anti. His eyes widen in realisation as he sees the chains and the metal collar on the floor. They're not open the way they usually are. No, the collar is  _ripped in half_ , and chain links broken and scattered around. And then Mark hears a cracking noise, and the creature rips the ring off from the chair. It bites down into it and the thick metal crushes under its teeth. Once it's completely free it turns around to face Mark.

"Hey, Maark." It's grinning as usual. After such demonstration of power, Mark has to take a few steps back, wondering if he'll ever get used to the fear.

"I got bored of waiting," Anti sing-songs his explanation. "I couldn't watch you in that chair."

"W… what the fuck is the point of those… If you can destroy them anyway…?" Mark smiles nervously, his mind already giving up on logic.

"Oh, I don't know. They will give me some new ones, anyway."

Mark shuts his eyes for a minute to even out his breath. When he opens them again, Anti's right in front of him. There's a faint glow of green in its eyes but it fades away into darkness.

"C-can we, uh…" Mark gulps. "N-not do the choking thing today?"

The creature tilts its head, the smile not faltering.

"No? But I like how you taste."

Mark thinks of his strategy from the day before and comes up with another subject.

"D-did you know there's another creature like you in this place?"

Anti squints his eyes and the grin gets a bit smaller. As it speaks, Mark swears he can hear… jealousy.

"Did you meet him?"

"H-him? No, no, I only heard about it…"

The creature closes its eyes and takes in a deep breath.

"Oh. Good."

Mark exhales with relief. The possibility of Anti attacking him was much too high for his liking in that moment. Its arms wrap around his torso, pulling him towards the creature and just like that, they're hugging again. Anti rests its head on Mark's shoulder and inhales his scent with a smile, whispering and musing his name over and over.

Mark decides there's just no way to guess what's up with the creature. It shouldn't have any reason to get attached to him like that, yet it's following its sick obsession with him and he has to play along. It's either that or his death, at least that's what he thinks. His own hands carefully rest on Anti's lower back, ready to retreat back to his sides the moment the creature displays any signs of uncomfort. It looks rather content with him returning the embrace, so Mark stays in that position.

"You're mine, Maark. Hmm… hmm… hmm… Mine, mine, mine…"

Its creepy singing never fails to terrify Mark, though this time he decides not to let it show. It's the giggling that gets him and he hisses as it stings his eardrums. His attention is brought to another part of his body, as he feels Anti's nails dig into his sides.

"A-Anti?" he mutters, anxious that he can't see its face. He hopes the eyes aren't glowing dangerously.

"Yeees?" The voice is quiet and awfully distorted. That can't mean anything good.

"What are you-- Argh!"

He can't even ask the question as he feels the sharp teeth on his neck. The creature bites him and the needle-like fangs puncture his skin with ease. It licks the blood that trickles from the fresh wounds. Mark groans from the pain and Anti chuckles.

"I just couldn't help myself, you knoow…"

"W-what the hell are you, some k-kind of a vampire?"

"I told you, Mark. I love your taste… Your scent…" The creature sounds more collected as it speaks now. "And I have it all to myself…"

He sighs with resignation. If his fate is to be eaten alive by that thing, then there's nothing he can do about it now. He only has that one promise he can hold on to, even though he's not sure if Anti really did mean what it said, claiming it wouldn't kill him.

The sweeps of the tongue are soon replaced by open-mouth kisses. Mark shudders because he's not ready for such displays of affection. Anti continues humming nonetheless and it sends vibrations up Mark's throat. He keeps quiet, only whimpering from time to time. No questions or subjects that could get him out of this situation come to his head.

Surprisingly, it somehow saves him from any major injuries. For the very first time, he hears an announcement that the visit for today is over, and Anti looks awfully disappointed.

"Already? But we were having… so much… fun…" His head twitches as he steps back and the green glow appears in his eyes. "Why… do you have to… leave… Maark?"

Mark's shaking all over and he panics, not knowing how exactly he's supposed to get out when the creature is free.

"I… I'll be back. Tomorrow. As usual."

"Promise…?"

Mark is about to nod in response when the door opens and somebody grabs him by his arm, yanking him backwards. He falls to the floor outside of the cell and the door shuts before Anti can escape. Mark hears a horrifying shriek and banging on the cold metal from the inside. The creature's voice cracks as it’s howling his name. When he looks up, he sees two guards loom over him. And they look… nervous. For the very first time, Mark sees that those armed people are scared.

"M-move. Back to your cell."

He leaves, trying not to think about the hurtful scratching behind him.

* * *

Mark is surprised he has no dreams in this place. With everything he's gone through, he thinks he should have some nightmares. But then again, maybe his brain is too exhausted trying to comprehend the living hell it's been thrown into, so it doesn't generate anything during sleep. He finds comfort in any rest he can get because he has a feeling the next day may be even more exhausting.

"We're going to take a break for a few days," the doctor says when Mark wakes up.

"What? But I've been in its cell only once since the last one."

"The experiment has reached phase two, which begins with at least three days of separation."

"Fuck you and this whole experiment," Mark spits.

"… We're going to repeat all psychological tests on you." The doctor eyes him warily. "In case its presence may have some… undesirable effects on you."

Mark doesn't understand what the other man means. Yet somehow, he'd rather go visit Anti again. Though he can't, since they're always keeping him under a lock and tight security. Even if he tried to, the guards would probably shoot him.

Nearly all the tests are the exact same ones he's gone through during his first days in the facility. They also let him take a proper shower, give him a new set of clothes because the old ones are all ragged and put bandages on his neck. Mark notices that anyone who gets to treat his wounds looks at him with great worry. He has no clue just what kind of injuries are on his throat, he's never encountered a mirror even once in the whole building.

Everything takes about five days. They even give him a whole day off, so he sleeps as much as he can. On the sixth day, the doctor takes him to a room he's never been in.

It's dark and at first, Mark doesn't see anything inside. Then, there's a flash of white and he sees that the wall on the opposite side is full of monitors. They all display black-and-white static, though without the noise. There's a chair in front of them and a desk.

"Sit down."

Mark listens to the order and stares at the screens. After a while, they switch to a video. All of them display the same thing. Mark squints his eyes to get the details. It's a rather big room, though it's empty. There's a chair that's bolted to the floor and around it, there are scattered chains. Mark realises what it is - it's Anti's cell. As he remembers the position of the camera, it confirms his guess. The door can be barely seen on the right edge of the screens. Mark is about to ask where the creature is when he sees a figure curled up in one of the corners. It looks kind of lost. Until the sound is turned on, and Mark jumps a little in the seat, not knowing that the cameras also record audio.

Of course, the only sound in the room is Anti's mumbling. Sometimes it's loud, sometimes quiet like a whisper, switching from one side to another and for a moment Mark wonders if there's nothing wrong with the speakers. He listens to the voice carefully, biting on his bottom lip. There's only one word he wants to catch, and sure enough, he hears it.

" _… Maark… Mark, where are you…_ "

The more he focuses, the more he understands Anti's words. It's calling for him just as he suspected.

"W-why are you showing me this?" he asks, turning around to face the doctor.

"Keep watching. I'll explain later."

When Mark looks back at the monitors, the video glitches and once it's back to normal, he sees Anti standing in the middle of the room. Although it’s facing the camera, its head is lowered with its gaze fixed on the floor. Mark swears that the whole recording has changed its colours - it was supposed to be just in greys, but now it looks like there's a green filter turned on. The creature continues muttering, now its voice adding static to the audio.

" _This isn't funny… Mark…"_

He holds his breath because even though it's just a video, they way Anti speaks sounds like it's talking directly to him nonetheless. And it's not singing it, either. Its voice is split into various layers again that keep dissociating. The creature itself is twitching, its hands clenching into fists and unclenching, its head jerking from one side to another. And Mark is sure that its eyes are glowing furiously.

Then, he hears the door opening. Three people are pushed into the room, all of them wearing the same kind of clothes as him. A part of him is surprised that Anti gets other visitors besides him. It seems to be so attached to him, after all.

One of the guests - a teenage girl immediately starts banging on the door as it closes behind them. She yells to be let out and is already crying - Mark suspects that she's terrified and was bawling even before being thrown into the cell. The other person - a bulky man stands with his arms crossed over his chest and glares at Anti. The third visitor is a mature woman that walks up to one of the walls, glancing at both the creature and the man with a nervous look on her face.

Anti seems to not be paying attention the guests. Although its mumbling is now drowned out by the new sounds, there's still some parts that get through to Mark.

" _… Not funny… Come back…"_

"Are you still watching?" he hears the doctor behind him.

"Y-yes."

"Good. Now, focus."

To tell the truth, Mark's been focused the whole time. He doesn't take his eyes off the screens, observing Anti's figure. Then, the screen glitches again. The muscular guy moves from his position, approaching the creature. Mark hears him speak.

 _"And what the fuck are you supposed to be?"_   his voice is harsh and somehow, not scared at all. Mark wonders if he's even noticed the warnings.

Anti's head twitches before it grits its teeth.

" _… You're not Mark."_

That's when it all begins. The part that the doctor wants Mark to carefully observe.

In the blink of an eye, the creature is right in front of the man, closing the space between them with incredible speed. It grabs his arm with one hand and hooks its fingers into his shoulder. There are a disgusting crack and some weird ripping. And the next moment Anti tears the man's whole arm off his body.

Silence falls between the people in the cell for a split second, before they realise what has just occurred. The man cries out in pain and tumbles backwards, watching with terrified eyes at the gaping hole on his side that runs with blood. After a while, Anti's right behind him and catches his throat in a deadly grip. Mark hears the bones crack under the pressure and watches with wide eyes as the creature's hold only gets tighter and tighter… Until the neck quite literally snaps in half, and Anti separates the head from the body with a simple pull.

The women in the cell scream incoherently, the teenager crying and begging for her life and the older one hugging the wall and whispering pitiful pleas, something about it being only a nightmare she would wake up from. Mark wishes he could snap out of it, too. Anti now jumps and stands right next to the girl.

" _Shut the fuck up. You're pathetic."_ Its voice is full of hatred. It's annoyed with the noise and grabs her by her arm just to throw her with inhuman strength. Her body crashes with the chair and her back snaps so that she's lying there, bent over the metal frame in an unnatural angle. Tears are still running down her face, though she can only make some gurgling noises.

Mark can't take it anymore. He stands up and yells at the screens.

"Stop it! Anti, stop! D-don't kill them!"

The creature can't hear his pleas as it gets back to the girl. And Mark must watch the massacre unfold in front of his eyes.

Anti yanks the teenager by her leg and her body falls to the floor with a loud thump. Her spine must be broken already because she can't move any part of her body, save for her trembling lips and eyes that are shut tight. It bites into her calf and with a sharp motion of its head rips the muscles there. The bones break in its mouth and it spits everything out.

 _"I… want… Mark!"_ It screeches again and punches the girl in her stomach. The skin and muscles give out under its force and its hand sinks in her intestines.

Mark covers his eyes and begs the doctor.

"T-turn it off! Why are you making me watch this?!"

"We're not done here. Keep watching."

"I can't! I-it's just killing everyone!"

Despite his protests, he can't avert his eyes completely. He still looks at the screens through his fingers, and tears of terror are running down his face.

The last person in the room soon meets the same fate, with Anti ripping her stomach apart and crushing her ribs. Although it's killed everyone, it keeps shouting and twitching furiously.

" _Mark, I want Mark!_ "

It's covered in blood and as it's throwing a tantrum, now pacing around the room, it looks like an actual beast from the depths of hell. Then, after a while, it stops and slowly turns its head to the camera. Mark catches those glowing, bright eyes and the video freezes. The screens glitch and the audio static nearly explodes. He covers his ears to block out the noise.

As it stops, and the video plays again, Mark falls off the chair at the sight.

Anti's bloody face is right in front of the camera, and its eyes shift from one place to another, as if it's looking around the room Mark's in. But it can't, it would be impossible… That's what he thinks until it speaks.

"… _Mark… I know you're watching… I see you…"_

Mark scoots away from the screens, and the creature's eyes  _actually follow him_.

"H-how… How the fuck…" he's close to hyperventilating with the pace of his breathing.

_"Maark… Come back… I'm waiting… I'm bored… Maark…"_

He turns around his head slowly, because he's shaking all over, and he can't close his eyes that are wide with fear. He stares at the doctor, who hasn't lost his composure at all. Mark begins to wonder if everyone in the whole facility is just a bunch of monsters.

"T… that i-isn't a video… is it?"

There's a loud popping sound, and all of the screens go black. The doctor turns the lights on in the room.

"It was the live feed from 4N-T1's cell."

"H… how can it…"

"That's one of its unique abilities. It seems to be able to watch camera feed as long as it’s turned on.”

Mark finally gets up, though the trembles make it hard to stand straight.

"… W… why…" He's all broken and feels sick in the stomach. His mind can't even begin to comprehend what it's just witnessed.

"As you can see, the test subject has turned rather violent during the period of separation. That's a part of the second phase, and your next visit is scheduled for tomorrow."

"Y-you've gotta be shitting me! N-no way in hell I am going b-back there!" He points at the black screens. "I-I don't want to die!"

"You won't. You'll be assigned a special task."

"N-no! I'm n-not going!"

"I'm afraid you don't have much of a choice here. We'll just force you if you don't cooperate," the doctor huffed. "And 4N-T1 will not kill you."

"H-how can you b-be so sure?! I've just watched it s-slaughter three people!"

"I repeat, it will not. If you were to die, it would've done it during your first visit in its cell."

"No… no… L-Let me out of this godforsaken place!" Mark yells and runs to the door. But as he opens it, two guards meet him.

He's soon dragged back to his own cell and he tries to fight with everything he's got. However, it's not enough to struggle out and he's left alone for the night in his room. He spends a good hour on just crying himself to sleep.

* * *

Mark wakes up feeling even more exhausted. He tired himself out the day before, just thinking about what would be awaiting him in the morning. He sluggishly gets up from his bed when the doctor comes in and says it's time to leave.

"This is a very specific task," the man in the lab coat talks on their way to the cell.

"Uh-huh…" Mark responds, not very interested in his words. He feels like a prisoner that's lead to his execution. Then, something's put in his hand. He looks at it and realises… It's a switchblade. "Wait… what?"

"During the visit try to hurt the test subject."

Mark lets the knife drop to the floor and stops.

"This is i-insane. I'm not going to do that!"

One of the guards following them picks up the blade and hands it back to him.

"We do not mind doing this every day. It's only up to you if the experiment goes down quickly or not," the doctor raises an eyebrow. "I've said it numerous times and I'll say it again. 4N-T1 will not kill you."

"You're talking about a fucking creature that's murdered people in mere seconds. And that creature is not too happy about being locked up, and for some reason, it wants _me_ there. And you're asking me to… to what, just stab it with this thing?!" Mark gestures around furiously, his hands shaking with anxiety already.

"Whatever will cause it pain, yes. You can even cut off its fingers."

Mark stares at the man with mouth agape. He can't believe what he's hearing.

"Y-you sick… fucks… Y-you don't mind that it's killed people, do you?! You don't care about anything but your fucking experiments!"

His yelling earns him a swift kick to the stomach from one of the guards. He bends over and coughs, cursing under his breath.

"We can make you play along. Or you can do it yourself."

Mark shoves the switchblade into one of his pockets, hoping they're going to forget about it. He's never even been able to hurt another person.

They leave him in front of the cell. There are furious yelling and annoyed scratching coming from inside.

Mark looks around, this time avoiding the door with his gaze. He searches for a camera and when he spots one on the right side, he gives it a pitiful look. A part of him hopes that Anti will notice him that way and won't actually murder him the moment the door opens.

The noise does not stop when he hears the lock open. He's even given up on the prayers right now because nothing's going to help him. This is where Mark Fischbach dies.

He doesn't see Anti when the door's open. It should be in the cell, and yet it's nowhere in sight. Mark takes a shaky breath and steps forward. It's suddenly… quiet. And that terrifies him more than the previous sounds. Did the creature escape?

He walks up to the chair that's covered in various marks. The way they are lined up, Mark guesses they were made with Anti's teeth. The chains are even more broken than before, some links crushed to pieces. There's no sign of blood in the room, though. He wonders just how did they clean up all the corpses but realises that perhaps it's better if he doesn't know.

Mark looks up at the camera - it's still there, under the ceiling. He thinks that the video yesterday was just some kind of a weird glitch, with Anti's face so close… Then he sees claw marks along the wall. The creature must've climbed it all the way up to the camera. But right now, it's not there either.

Mark does the last thing he wants to do, honestly. But not knowing where it is scares him the most.

"… A-anti? I-it's me…"

He goes silent, waiting. He thinks he hears some rustling. And then he catches some movement with the corner of his eye before he's slammed against the nearest wall. Two hands squeeze his throat and he feels sharp nails cut his skin nearly instantly. He gasps for air, as the sudden attack knocked it out of his lungs.

Then just as quickly as it happened, it stops.

"… M… Mark…"

The hands leave his neck and he wheezes, taking as deep breaths as possible.

"… Why… didn't you come… for so long…"

Even though Anti isn't choking him anymore, its voice indicates that it's barely keeping it together, distorting into various different tones.

"I was… worried… you left me…"

Mark feels… guilty. Sure, he's terrified, but his heart now aches for two reasons.

"I'm… sorry."

"You promised… And I waited… I'm not… very patient… you know?"

Mark's eyes finally meet Anti's. The green rings are glowing with what seems to be frustration but the expression on its face looks betrayed.

"I'm really sorry, Anti. I… They didn't let me."

"Who… who didn't? I'll… rip them apart… for keeping you away… from me…" The creature bares its teeth in a scowl.

"B-but I'm here now, a-and it's okay… r-right?" Mark's mind goes back to the sight of the dead bodies in the very same cell he's standing in right now. He thinks he's been scared of Anti before, but only now does he know what it's truly capable of.

"You're… here… Mine… my Mark…"

Its voice quiets down and the corners of its mouth slowly move up to form a smile. Mark feels a wave of relief just sweep through his whole body as he watches the creature calm down. Soon its eyes dim as well, and they're black again. And he thinks that maybe, just maybe that void isn't so scary anymore.

"Maark… I'm tired…"

That comes out of the blue. Mark's surprised to hear those words, and even more shocked as Anti simply hugs him and rests its head on his chest. But then again, it's been going on a rampage for five days straight, or at least he supposes so.

"I-I guess even you n-need some rest, huh?" He pats its head cautiously.

"Mark… Stay here… I want to smell you…"

And there it is, the creepy part of the visits. Mark doesn't see much of a choice here.

"U-um… a-alright?"

For some reason, Anti's always so interested in Mark's neck. It nuzzles its face into his chest before moving up, licking his skin on the way. Mark shudders but doesn't move away.

"A-anti?"

"Hmmm?" It already sounds happy, its replies now hummed like a melody.

"Do you… uh. Can you feel p-pain?"

"Sometimes?" The creature murmurs against his skin and it tickles. "People can't hurt me, though."

"A-and why i-is that?" The knife feels heavy in Mark's pocket as he asks the questions.

"Because I kill them first!" It giggles, the laughter makes Mark groan out in pain. Then it's back to giving all of its attention to his neck.

"I can't do it…" Mark mutters to himself and it doesn't go unnoticed.

"Can't do what?" Anti pulls away. "Do you… not like me anymore?"

Mark's surprised at those words. He doesn't remember ever saying that he likes the creature. Then again, it's probably assumed that, and for his own sake, he's not going to say anything.

"N-no, I was just… thinking aloud…" He gives it a sheepish smile. He scolds himself for not being careful enough with his words.

"Should I stop? I don't want to stop. I love it too much." Anti says that like it's made the decision within five seconds, so it shrugs and kisses Mark's Adam's apple.

In a few minutes, the creature goes from licking and kissing to nibbling to proper biting. Mark can't do anything as usual, as more and more blood trickles down his neck and chest, staining his shirt. It's so easy to get lost in all of it, Anti humming his name in its weird melodies. He doesn't realise exactly when he starts blacking out, the voice from the speakers snaps him awake.

" _The visit time is over. Please leave the test subject’s area."_

The creature growls possessively.

"Don’t go."

"I-I have to, I think…" Mark rubs his neck nervously. As if on cue, the door opens and five guards with rifles step into the cell.

"Step away from the test subject," one of them says and points his gun at Anti.

Mark wants to move, but the creature holds his arm, refusing to let him. He shifts his gaze from one party to another, giving them both anxious looks.

"A-anti, I-I’ll come back…"

"You said that the last time," it snarls.

"I did, in the end, r-right?"

Two of the guards approach them and one pokes Anti with the end of his rifle, as the other aims at its head.

"Let him go."

The creature grabs both guns immediately and yanks them out of the guards’ hands. It throws the weapons aside and jumps at one of them with a furious screech.

Mark takes it as his chance to escape and runs to the door, where the other three guards push him out. The door locks behind them, and he hears the sounds of fighting coming from inside. He looks at the guards that are with him, neither of them meets his gaze.

“Y-you’ve left them t-there…”

Nobody says anything. Mark knows they are just going to take him to his cell anyway.

When he leaves, he hears the mad screams.

" _Maark! Mark, come back! I’m going… to kill… them all! Nobody.... can take you away… from me! Mark!"_

* * *

Mark's woken up by some weird noise. His half-asleep mind can't comprehend what's going on as he picks up rushed footsteps and siren blaring out from the speakers all over the place. He turns to lay on his other side for a minute before it all gets to him.

He jumps out of the bed and rushes to the door. There's a small window there and it allows him to see whatever's happening outside. Mark sees all the people in labcoats run down the corridor, some screaming in terror and some just shouting out orders. He can't understand much, but from the looks of it, it seems that  _something's escaped_.

He's forced to just watch, until after a couple of minutes the door to his cell opens, just like that. The lock clicks and he pushes it open. As he steps outside, he sees that most of the people have already run off to the exits. If there are any in the first place since he's never seen them. The hallway's dark, only illuminated by red warning lights. The siren quiets down as well, now only heard as a faint sound from another part of the facility.

Mark walks forward, the only paths he knows are the ones leading to the examination rooms and… Anti's cell. He decides to go the same way everyone was running, hoping that there's going to be an exit. There are no arrows or signs pointing to such door, but he doesn't want to lose hope.

This part of the corridor is rather narrow, and surprisingly, there are no rooms there. It seems to be too tight for an escape route, Mark thinks, until he sees a bigger chamber at the end of it. There are five metal doors and each one of them has a small keypad next to them.

"E-elevators?" Mark approaches them and confirms his suspicions. The keypads all display the same text.

_Insert the keycard to unlock the access to the elevator_

He curses because obviously, he has none. All of the employees probably have one, that's why they were able to escape. Mark sighs and wonders what can be done in this situation.

"Maybe… there's something in the offices…" he mutters to himself. So many people were running away that one of them could've left their keycard in hurry. Seeing as there's no better plan at the moment, he goes back the same way he's come. Of course, he remembers about the fact that there's something on the loose, but maybe he's better off not knowing what kind of monstrosity has escaped.

The longer Mark walks, the more anxious he gets. There's nobody in the corridors, the emptiness too unnerving. He doesn't hear any people anymore. All of the employees - even the guards - are gone.

He walks past his own cell again and looks at the other doors in the hallway. Mark tries to open one of them - it turns out that all of the rooms have been unlocked. But there's not even a trace of the other prisoners, the cells empty as well.

"D-did everyone just leave without me…?" He gulps at the thought.

Mark struggles to contain his fear and focuses on his goal - the path to the examination rooms is clear in his mind. Although the corridors aren't as bright anymore, the dim red light barely illuminating the grey walls, he remembers all the turns he has to take. He takes his time, his footsteps quiet and careful. Without knowing what's out there, he knows he has to be constantly on guard.

As he passes through one of the hallways, there's a sudden high-pitched sound, followed by static coming from the speakers. The noise sounds like a rusty microphone test. Mark continues walking until something else joins the sounds.

He'd recognise that humming everywhere. He freezes in place, feeling sweat beads forming on his forehead. Then he hears it.

"Hm… hmm… Maark… Mark, Mark, Mark…"

It's enough to make him run for his life. Now he knows what's out there. And he doesn't want to see it. Mark realises he's making just more noise as he rushes to the offices but he can't begin to care. The fear of a bloodthirsty creature looking for him overrides his thoughts.

Once he's in front of the closest examination room, he kicks and bashes on the door. Mark's furious as he notices it's closed. He tries each next one and grows more and more frustrated, finding out that all of them are shut tight.

"Come on, come oon!" He whines at the tenth door, that still refuses to budge. The static and humming stopped some time ago but he still feels scared.

Mark leans against the wall, breathing heavily. He's tired himself out and knows the plan needs some re-thinking.

"Where the fuck can I find the damn keycard?!" He punches the door once more. It's infuriating that he's trapped with no way out. He's not sure who to direct his anger at - himself, for not putting up a better fight or the people that locked him in this place.

He snaps out of his thoughts when he hears a scream from down the hallways. It's a squeaky shriek - probably a woman. The noise gets louder, followed by rushed footsteps - she's most likely running his way. But then the sounds suddenly stop, as if she vanished. He listens for anything, wondering what's happened. And he soon gets his answer.

"Where's… Mark… Maark… Hmm… hm… hmm…"

"F-fuck… Fuck!" He starts running again. This time, the opposite direction, away from the distorted voice. Mark is unable to stop panicking as he can only imagine what's happened to the woman.

He loses track of where he's going at this point, focusing on only getting as far away from the creature as possible. As long as it doesn't know where he is, he's more or less safe.

Mark runs down the corridors, trying various doors from time to time. Most of them require a code or a keycard and no amount of cursing and angry kicking can help. When he finds one that's open, he instantly jumps in without thinking what's inside and shuts the door. It has several locks from the inside, so he uses all of them to ensure that nobody and nothing will go after him.

Both the physical exercise and mental strain take their toll on him and he sits down in a nearby chair. He pants as he tries to catch his breath. His sped up heart rate causes him to feel the loud thumping in his ears.

Mark looks around the room only after the pain in his chest lets up. It's full of desks, each one with a monitor. Some of the devices are still on, displaying various camera views from all over the building. He approaches one of them and sees an empty cell, similar to his. Except that there's some blood smeared on the wall. He shifts his gaze to another screen that displays one of the hallways - this one barely shows two dead bodies on the bottom - one with its head ripped off, the other's stomach torn apart.

Mark walks from one desk to another, finding more and more gruesome views on the screens that are on. One of them fizzles and freezes before its hue turns green. Mark holds his breath when he sees a figure appear. It slowly turns its head to face the camera and he jumps away, realising that the creature can see him with its bizarre ability. The silhouette disappears with another glitch after a couple of seconds.

"S-shit! Please, don't come here…" Mark goes crazy as it hits him that he may have just given away his current position. There seems to be nothing helpful in the room as he now frantically searches for the keycard of something else of the sort. He doesn't notice as some screens glitch from time to time, something jumping from view to another.

There's just one exit from the room and Mark thinks of leaving it and running for it, having turned the whole place down to no avail. But as he approaches the door, a loud pop indicates that the speakers turn on again.

"Maark, come out… I'm coming… Hmm…. hmm… hm…"

Just as he hears the creature speak, there are soft footsteps outside. Mark nearly shrieks, clasping a hand over his mouth so as not to let the scream out. He needs to hide, and quickly. But the room only has the desks, so he scrambles to duck under one of them. He chooses the one in the middle of the third row, hoping that he won't be noticed as he observes the door. He's sure it's shut tight, yet that doesn't stop his heart from going wild in his chest.

He can't hear the footsteps anymore when all of the screens suddenly glitch and their views turn into dead static. There's a minute of silence before there's a loud bang on the door. One. Two. Three.

And a giggle. A laughter that erupts in his ears, terrifies him beyond everything. There are tears in the corners of his eyes as he can't take them off the door.

It's thick, made out of steel. All of the doors in this place are sturdy and secure. And Mark sees as it creaks and bends, and the next few hits make it break in the middle. It flies out of its hinges with a crash, landing on the floor.

"Maark? I know… you're in here…"

It's too dark to see the figure clearly but Mark is quick to catch those glowing eyes. They move around with incredible speed, scanning the room. He curls into a ball under the desk, hiding away from Anti's sight.

"Please, please, please, please…" he pleads in his mind as he grits his teeth and tears now roll down his face.

The gentle footsteps start again, a quiet tapping of the bare feet on the tiled floor. The creature walks around the room, humming to itself its creepy melodies. If Mark didn't know better, he'd think there were several people in this place - Anti's voice is so dissociated at this point that the sound echoes, bouncing off the walls and it's impossible to locate him.

"Hmm… I can… smell your fear… Mark…"

There's a hacking wheeze - Mark guesses it's the creature inhaling. He can't control the shivering anymore and he breathes silently with his mouth open, as the clattering of his teeth could give him out.

"Do you… want to play… hide-and-seek…?" Anti sing-songs. "I don't… like this game… But if you… want to… then who am I… to say no…?"

That has to be the sickest game of hiding in his life. One that may cost Mark his life. The creature continues walking, and new noises interrupt the deafening silence. Mark sees as one of the monitors crashes against the wall, shattering into billions of pieces.

"Do you… know… why I don't… like this game…?"

The next thing that's broken, is a desk - with one swift hit it cracks into two pieces, sending splinters flying. Mark's forgotten how to blink at this point. The constant stream of salty water and the dry air sting his eyes, though he can't even shift his gaze from the one point he's fixed on.

"Because…"

The footsteps stop - and Mark's view is obstructed by a pair of legs. They're clothed the same black, ripped jeans, now colored dark red. The stench of blood finally hits his nostrils and his stomach does a flip. The feet shift and are now facing him.

"You… can't hide… very well."

An arm crashes down and a crimson hand grabs Mark's ankle. He's dragged out from under the desk and the next moment gets pulled up to his feet.

Anti's head keeps jerking from one side to another, its face an expression of pure madness. The green in the eyes has turned so bright that it's nearly white, with only a lime undertone. Its mouth is pulled into a wide grin, its teeth stained with blood. There are red splatters all over the creature's body and the smell is unbearable.

"They're gone now… Some escaped… but I've killed… most of them…"

Mark gives it his most pathetic expression. He can't even think in the moment, feeling that even his bladder has given up and there's a disgusting, wet feeling between his legs. It's not like he cares - with the amount of terror he's gone through, it's surprising he's lasted for so long.

"Nobody… will take you away…"

Anti brings its hand to Mark's face and scrapes one of its nails - they look more like claws now - across his jawline. It notes that he can't even stand straight in his current condition, though it doesn't mind holding him up.

"You broke… your promises… It's alright…" It's voice is slowly merging back into one tone, the creature getting its composure back. "You're here… and I'm here… you won't leave…"

Anti cups his cheek, its thumb now caressing the damp skin. It leans in, also pulling Mark close and their lips meet. It's cold and salty, and there's some copper sweetness mixed in. Mark doesn't know what he wishes for more - the embrace of death, so it all can just stop, or a miraculous salvation that's not going to come. He's conflicted, stuck in this nightmareous limbo where one part struggles with everything it's got to keep him alive, and the other tries to escape from everything and sees no point in this life.

His hands hang limply by his sides and one of them bumps against his leg. He feels something in the pocket - a forgotten weight, and the memory resurfaces in his mind. The switchblade now feels heavy, reminding about itself and Mark can't stop thinking about it.

It's the only thing he's got. It's either going to kill him or save him. There's no other option.

His hand sneaks into the pocket, one finger gently pushes the small button that releases the blade from its handle. Mark's trembling, but Anti doesn't notice the slight changes in his posture, his eyes, his breathing. It's too focused on the kiss, now pushing its tongue past Mark's lips, invading his mouth.

So as the knife gets plunged right into its left eye, it convulses and jumps away with a screech. Its voice disperses and each tone screams, shrieks, cries with a different emotion. Betrayal, shock, frustration - and they sound so alien in Anti's throat because they're too _human_.

Mark escapes from the room, running with everything he's got. He doesn't look back, soon there are sounds behind him again and he knows the creature is chasing him. It yells and pleads, shouts and threatens.

"M… Maaark! Get back… right here! Mark! I'm… not… letting you go…"

He scrambles for his life, all the corridors fade into one blur in his eyes. He has no idea where he's going, where he's even _trying_ to go. The furious screeches and scratching behind him make his legs move on their own, leading him into the total unknown.

He's running for so long that everything aches and yet he can't stop. He can't even take any turns, always choosing the pathway that's right in front of him. Maybe half an hour passes when something finally appears in his sight. He doesn't believe it. It looks too good. Too ideal for his situation.

There's a staircase at the end of the hallway.

Mark doesn't care which way to go. Just as long as he can get out, be it a door or a window. He chooses the way down, leaping down the stairs, jumping over two each time. He nearly falls over, barely keeping his balance given his carelessness. He's about to reach another floor, seeing a door with the number "1" on it just below him.

There's a crash, and the railings next to him get utterly destroyed. Anti lands on them, crushing them with its weight. Mark isn't given even a second to react and he's slammed into the wall and thrown down the stairs. His body rolls down and stops on a longer step. The creature is there in an instant and pins him to the floor.

"H… how… could… you…"

Most of the tones in Anti's voice have turned into incomprehensible gibberish, save for one single whisper that's barely understandable. As Mark looks at its face, he freezes completely.

The right eye is still green and glowing, though its iris has a hard time staying in one place. It keeps shifting and Mark realises that's just Anti looking back and forth between his own eyes. It moves so quickly it's hard to think that it can focus on the view.

The left one though is horrifying. The knife is gone and it's evident that the creature pulled it out in haste. The whole eyeball is split in two, and there's some thick, black ooze dripping from the cut. It runs down Anti's face and even drips onto Mark's, as it hovers over him. The creature's eyelid keeps twitching and Mark thinks that maybe he's also damaged the muscles inside.

"I thought… we were… friends…" Anti breathes heavily and one of its hands rests on Mark's chest, as the other wraps around his throat. "But you… just had to… run…"

The creature doesn't choke him, at least not yet. But its fingers are hooked into his skin.

"I won't… forgive you… The promises… don't mean… anything…"

Mark needs to think about it to finally get it. There really _is_ no way out. They warned him. He'd either stay by himself, or be forced. Seems that he's sealed his fate with choosing the second option.

Pain erupts in his chest. Soon he's fading away.

* * *

"The test subject has been locked back in its cell, sir."

The man sitting behind his huge desk only dismisses the employee with a wave of his hand. He's still staring at the footage that plays over and over again on his monitor. He watches as 4N-T1 kills mercilessly everyone on its way, constantly calling out one name.

Then he looks at the papers scattered on his desk. Three different files, each one about a different person. He picks one up. "Signe Hansen", it's labelled.

"S-sir, don't you think it's enough…?" Another person standing in front of the desk speaks up. "The test subject doesn't show any sign of improvement…"

"No. We're getting closer," he finally speaks and reads through the file.

"What if one day it breaks loose and… and doesn't…"

He sends them a glare.

"One more word and I'll disable your keycard during the next breach."

It's enough to shut them up. He hands them the file.

"She's next. Begin the experiment within the next three days."

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear your opinions on this work! Please leave kudos and a comment if you liked it!
> 
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